I found this nauseating….not a care in the world and not a single sign of self-responsibility in the bunch. It used to be society would use shame to keep people within societal norms, but it is in short supply in this scenario.  Has shame become extinct?

I guess we are just sliding down the continuum: once, one had to do for themselves – or you died.  Sure, people would be helpful, but you were responsible for you.  As I was growing up, it was expected that people would fend for themselves, yet that was the beginning of the time (the Sixties, how I loathe that decade) when the expectation turned to entitlement.

I guess that is the result of living in an increasingly wealthy society.  As the wealth of a nation goes up, the expectations of society of its citizens goes down.  Certainly, the shame of not being a productive citizen seems to be a vanishing virtue.

Like I said above, I’m not even sure shame even exists (except when one crosses a politically correct line – boy, is the shame poured on then!) for the right reasons anymore.  Have we really become a Jerry Springer world?

At least this story is from Britain – although I’m quite sure it happens here in the US as well…. 

One big happy family: Scrounging grandmother’s pride at daughters’ teenage pregnancies 

In many households, a pregnancy at 14 would generate a family crisis.

But for grandmother Pauline Rees, who has faced that reality not once, but twice, it is a matter only for pride and joy.  "The more the merrier," says the unemployed 45-year-old mother of five. "When my children grew up I felt so sad." "I wanted babies in my house again. I adore kids."  "It was really wonderful when the girls told me they were pregnant."  "I wasn’t a bit angry. Now we’re one big happy family."

Her daughters Gillian and Sky now have two children each, despite still being in their teens.

And like their mother, they and their families all live on benefits.

[snip]

[Gillian, 19] She continued: "I never found it hard being a young mum."

"Both my children were good babies, so I always got enough sleep.

"And I wasn’t worried about it changing my lifestyle. I never did anything but stay in and watch TV anyway.

If all I had to worry about all day was watching TV and all my needs were met by productive citizens whose hard earned money is being siphoned off for the likes of this family, I wouldn’t have to change my lifestyle either.  No sleep at night?  No problem!

"There’s nothing to do around here, so having kids keeps me busy.

"I feel good about bringing life into the world."

Nothing to do; Check.  Having a kid without having to support it; Check.  Does anyone see a problem here?  Sheer laziness.  If there is nothing to do, MAKE SOMETHING HAPPEN!  And making a baby is not making something happen. 

[snip]

The teenage mothers, their partners and Mrs Rees all rely on benefits to get by, at an annual cost to the taxpayer of £34,000, not including their free accommodation.

That’s the same as $68,441 at today’s exchange rate. That’s tax free!  I have no idea what the "council houses" (i.e., Section 8 / subsidized housing) – call it $750 / month for the lack of a better number.  Times 3 houses (they all have their own) adds up to another $27,000 per year on the taxpayer back.

A total of  $95,441.

[snip]

"I didn’t have a clue they were having sex so young. But both my girls have proved that they’re good mums." A full version of the family’s interview appears in the latest edition of Closer, on sale today.

No, they are not…not by any stretch of the word.  Being good parents does not start by forcing others to pay for you and your children.  The basic tenant is that you can afford them in the first place.  Doing otherwise is just selfish (which is what this story brings out).

Look, I have no problem with extending a helping hand to those down on their luck.  We ran a day care center for a while and was glad to see some of the single moms, through no fault of their own, end up on hard times, and we helped them out best we could.  But, in contrast with the above losers, they were working part time, going to school, and generally trying to work their way out of the hole that they found themselves in.  

We also had losers too – dropped off their kids and then they and their loser boyfriends (yes, I listened to them talk) would just sit around the house all day (and then kvetch that we charged too much when they were late in picking up their kids). I should have dropped a dime on them for gaming the system. 

Entitlement mentalities.  Not good for those who have it….and not good for those that enable it.